1. What is The February Journal?

The February Journal is an independent interdisciplinary academic publication that is peer-reviewed and available in diamond open access. It presents empirical, theoretical, and speculative research that uses decentering, queer, feminist, decolonial, and autotheoretical methodologies to address urgent cultural, social, and political questions. The journal understands knowledge holistically and seeks to integrate artistic and activist work into academic practice. Open to professionals of all career levels, it puts special effort into helping less experienced authors publish their research. The journal also welcomes work in a variety of genres, celebrating innovative ways of presentation. It is a venue for scholars and students of humanities and social sciences, visual arts, and crossovers from the natural sciences.

2. Why are the archives of The Garage Journal and GJ Media published on The February Journal’s website?

The Garage Journal: Studies in Art, Museums & Culture (2019–2022) was a Moscow-based interdisciplinary academic journal created and published with the support of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art. With the beginning of the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and the de facto introduction of wartime censorship in Russia, the publication of The Garage Journal was discontinued. The Garage Museum transferred the rights to The Garage Journal’s (and GJ Media’s) archives to the journal’s former editors, who have created a new independent academic journal based in Berlin, Germany. In order to underline the caesura of the current war, this journal has been called The February Journal.

3. Why is The February Journal an academic journal?

The February Journal is registered as a research journal in an international publication database. It publishes new original research. Articles and essays published in The February Journal are written by researchers involved in academia, museums, and other research institutions, and also by independent researchers. Importantly, the journal seeks to expand the understanding of knowledge by integrating artistic and activist work into academic practice. Decisions about the publication of a manuscript submitted to The February Journal are made on the basis of blind peer reviews, meaning that the manuscript’s reviewers assess it for quality and compliance with the international standards of scholarly research as well as ethical standards (see ‘What is blind peer review?’ for details).

4. What does ‘diamond open access’ mean?

The February Journal publishes materials online in open access, meaning that they are available free of charge to users anywhere in the world, provided that the latter have access to digital technologies such as the internet. Moreover, the journal does not charge any publication fees. This absence of fees for both readers and authors amounts to ‘diamond open access.’

5. How many issues does The February Journal publish annually?

As of 2023, The February Journal publishes two issues per year.

6. Who reads The February Journal?

The readership of The February Journal comprises academics, curators, museum workers, activists, artists, critics, and other professionals of various disciplines, as well as all those interested in topics comprising the journal’s scope and/or each separate issue.

7. What is the structure of The February Journal’s team?

The February Journal consists of an Editorial Board and an Advisory Board. The Editorial Board is organized non-hierarchically.

8. Who are members of The February Journal’s Advisory Board?

Members of The February Journal's Advisory Board are drawn from a range of relevant professions, academic disciplines, and areas of knowledge creation and research. They include academics, curators, activists, artists, and cultural practitioners involved in the production of cutting-edge research. All of them have extended experience of working in academic presses, research institutions, cultural institutions, as independent professionals, and similar. Members of the Advisory Board consult the Editorial Board on issues concerning the various activities of The February Journal, propose topics for special issues, and resolve conflict situations with regard to peer reviews and other issues. For a full list of members, check the ‘Advisory Board' section on the website.

9. Can I author a contribution for The February Journal?

The February Journal publishes work by independent scholars, university faculty members, employees of research centers, as well as curators, artists, activists, and other practitioners who conduct research in the humanities. There are no restrictions as to the type of research, methodology or discipline.

10. How can I submit a paper to The February Journal?

You can submit your paper through The February Journal’s online submission system. You have to register on The February Journal’s website, then log into your account and choose the option ‘Submit a contribution’. 

Before making a submission, please read carefully the ‘Submissions’ section on the website.

11. Does The February Journal have any submission guidelines?

Yes, please check the ‘Submissions’ section on the website and follow the guidelines in order to prepare your manuscript for submission. Manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be rejected.

12. What kind of submissions does The February Journal publish?

The February Journal aims to advance research presented in different formats and genres. In addition to the traditional academic genres of article, essay, and book review, the journal publishes datasets and their visualizations, as well as visual/image essays (check the ‘Submissions’ section for details). We also welcome other genres and celebrate innovative ways of presentation. If you have a contribution in another format or genre, please contact the editors to discuss the possibility, including the technical possibility, of publishing your work.

13. In what language can I write my contribution?

The February Journal has a long-term objective of publishing all submissions in the original language plus their translation into English. For the time being, however, the journal publishes submissions in English. Still, publications in other languages can be possible by way of exception: please contact the editors to discuss this possibility.

14. Can I write a book review for The February Journal?

We do not accept unsolicited book reviews. If you would like to review a book, please contact the editors at info@thefebruaryjournal.org before submitting your manuscript to the journal. 

The primary purpose of publishing book reviews in The February Journal is to inform the public about new publications by providing an analytical assessment of the book. We do not publish reviews that contain personal views on the book or its author(s), or uninformed criticism, or a discussion that distracts the reader from getting an understanding of the purpose and scope of the reviewed publication. Reviewers are asked to provide essential information about the book, situate it critically within a particular context (for example, a scientific school, a discipline, current debates, etc.), and make a recommendation in terms of potential readership (for example, researchers, curators, students, etc.). Please check the ‘Submissions’ section for details.

15. What is double blind peer review?

All contributions submitted to The February Journal, with the exception of book reviews, are peer-reviewed. Reviewers are selected by The February Journal’s editors, members of the journal's Advisory Board, and guest editors. We have a transparent system of assessing contributions for publication, and do our best to carry out reviews of submitted work in a polite, unbiased, constructive, and professional way. We have a transparent, fair, and unbiased system of assessing contributions for publication. 

Most submissions undergo the process of double blind peer review, meaning that the manuscript is assessed by (at least) two specialists in the relevant research field who do not know the identity of the author(s), and vice versa. In this case, manuscripts are sent to reviewers in an anonymized form. This implies that no personal data of the author(s)—their name and surname, affiliation, etc.—are made available. To prepare the anonymized manuscript, please remove all references to the authors from the submission. Self-references should also be anonymized (e.g., Author 2019). Moreover, please check the settings on your computer to make sure your name does not appear in the file name and/or history. In case the reviewer recognizes the identity of the author(s) whose manuscript they are reviewing, they are asked not to proceed with the review. A new reviewer is then appointed by the editors. Once received by the editorial team, reviews are discussed in an editorial meeting. As a result of this meeting, the editors make their final decision regarding the publication of the manuscript. 

As part of the submission process, the authors will sometimes be asked to provide the names of two or more peers who could be invited to review the submitted manuscript. Recommended reviewers should be experts in the relevant field and should be able to assess the manuscript objectively. Please be aware of any conflicts of interest when recommending reviewers. The reviewer should have no prior knowledge of the submission, should not have recently collaborated with any of the authors, and should not be affiliated with the same institution as any of the authors. The editors will consider inviting proposed candidates to review the submission but are not obliged to do so. 

For artist’s and activist’s essays and other works, we have developed a separate approach to peer review. We call it ‘friendly peer review.’ Please check ‘What is “friendly peer review”?’ for details.

16. What is ‘friendly peer review’?

All contributions submitted to The February Journal undergo a rigorous process of double blind peer review: each manuscript is anonymously assessed by at least two specialists in the relevant field of academic research. However, the journal also aims at expanding the boundaries of academic practice by integrating artistic and activist work into it. Essays and works of other genres created by artists and activists can be harder or even impossible to anonymize. Moreover, without proper contextualization, they can be difficult to evaluate by academic standards. What we have come to call ‘friendly peer review’ seeks to contextualize the piece by an artist or activist to potential reviewers. The review form for such pieces that The February Journal has developed expands what is understood by ‘academic knowledge’ without compromising academic rigor.

17. What role do reviewers play in The February Journal?

Reviewers assess the quality of the submitted contributions, including their compliance with the international scholarly and ethical research standards. Important aspects of a review are originality and novelty of the author’s approach to the subject. Based on the reviewers’ recommendation, The February Journal editors will: 

1. accept the manuscript for publication without any revisions;
2. accept the manuscript but ask the author(s) to make revisions. The February Journal’s editors will assess the quality of the revisions. If they are not satisfied with the revisions, the editors may invite a re-submission or reject the manuscript (see items 3 and 4);
3. recommend that the author(s) re-work the manuscript and make a re-submission to the journal. This means that the re-worked version of the manuscript will undergo a new round of blind peer reviews; or
4. reject the manuscript.

18. What should I do when recommended to revise the manuscript?

The February Journal carries out reviews of submitted work in a polite, constructive, and professional way. As a result of the review, the author(s) are most likely to be asked to use reviewers’ feedback to revise their contribution. The purpose of revisions is not to ‘penalize’ the authors, but to improve the quality of the submission. Reviewers’ feedback and advice on revisions will be provided. 

The author(s) may ask the editors to clarify some recommendations, but generally it is expected that the author(s) are able to work with the recommendations on their own. 

The author(s) can either revise the manuscript as per recommendations, so that it is published in The February Journal, or they can withdraw the manuscript from publication altogether. The author(s) cannot re-submit a manuscript if it was accepted for publication with revisions.

19. What does ‘making a re-submission’ mean?

Making a re-submission means that the author(s) are encouraged to significantly re-work the manuscript in accordance with the reviewers’ recommendations, after which they can submit the paper to February again. Once re-submitted, the manuscript will undergo a new round of peer review.

20. What happens if I disagree with the reviewers’ recommendations?

In case of disagreement, The February Journal’s editors will assign a team of assessors consisting of members of the Advisory Board. They will provide an independent, unbiased assessment of the situation and put forward a recommendation for action. Their decision is final and cannot be contested.

21. What happens to the personal data I provide during the registration process?

In the course of the registration on The February Journal’s website and when submitting a manuscript to the journal, the author is required to provide some personal data (their name and surname, affiliation, postal address, phone number, etc.) and agree that these data be processed by The February Journal’s team. Personal data are necessary, so that the editors could work with the submitted manuscript efficiently. The journal’s management of personal data is in line with the current regulation in the European Union (General Data Protection Regulation), where the journal is registered as a publication. Please check our ‘Privacy Policy’ for details.

22. Does The February Journal publish expanded and/or re-worked versions of the texts that previously appeared in another journal?

The February Journal tends to publish original texts that previously were not available to the public. However, exceptions can be made. Decisions regarding expanded and/or re-worked versions of texts that have already appeared in another publication are made on a case-by-case basis. Before submitting such a manuscript to the journal, please inquire with The February Journal’s editors or the editor(s) of the special issue for which the text is intended. 

23. What is The February Journal’s copyright policy?

The February Journal publishes works under the Creative Commons BY 4.0 license, with the exception of appropriately marked third-party copyright material. The content under the CC BY 4.0 license may be reproduced, distributed and made publicly available, even commercially, under the following two conditions: firstly, you must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made, and secondly, you may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits. In case of further use, we ask for a message to info@thefebruaryjournal.org. 

Importantly, all images and appropriately marked text extracts published by The February Journal comprise third-party copyright material that is not covered by the Creative Commons license. Details of the copyright ownership and permitted use of third-party material is given in the image or extract credit lines. If you would like to reuse any third-party material published in The February Journal and not covered by the Creative Commons license, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright owner. Film stills and screenshots do not require permission; they are published in accordance with the principles of fair use (please see ‘What is fair use of copyright materials?’). When submitting the manuscript, the authors will be prompted to provide relevant copyright documentation.

As part of the submission process, you will be required to affirm that you are submitting your own work and that you own the rights to that work. The author is responsible for clearing all copyright permissions for images, figures, and citations, where applicable. Texts cited by the author(s) should be referenced in accordance with the requirements. Only manuscripts that do not infringe any third-party copyrights can be published in The February Journal. The editors are not responsible for the author’s breaking of the international copyright law.

24. What is fair use of copyrighted materials? 

The February Journal requires that its authors seek permission for the use of copyrighted materials such as photos or artworks. Exceptions can be made in situations when the author(s) can clearly demonstrate that such materials are intended for the benefit of the public, that is, they abide with the principles of fair use. Fair use is an exception and limitation to the rights of exclusivity that are granted to the creator of a piece of work by copyright. Limited use means the use of copyrighted material for the benefit of the public without the author’s permission. The approach taken by The February Journal adheres to the principles advocated by international research organizations such as The Society for Cinema and Media Studies. We publish screenshots and film stills in accordance with the principles of fair use.

25. Does The February Journal screen manuscripts for plagiarism?

Yes, manuscripts are screened for plagiarism. If detected, The February Journal has the right to reject the manuscript. A record of the case will be made by the editors.

26. What tools of identifying authors does The February Journal use?

The February Journal employs the ORCID system for the purpose. The ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a code that uniquely identifies academic authors worldwide. It is used to resolve the problem of the ambiguity of an author’s name in scholarly communication. Most names are not unique, they can change (as a result of marriage or due to other circumstances). The ORCID allows a particular text to be connected with its author in order to avoid confusion.

The February Journal requires that each submitting contributor and each reviewer provide their ORCIDs. If you do not yet have an ORCID, please register here to acquire one. 

If a contributor prefers to publish a contribution under a pseudonym, a separate ORCID should be created under that pseudonym. 

27. Are authors required to pay any fee for the publication in The February Journal?

The February Journal follows the diamond open access publishing model. This means that neither readers nor authors incur any fees. In short, article processing charges (APCs) are not required by The February Journal.

28. What role does a guest editor play in The February Journal?

We welcome your ideas and proposals for future special issues. If you would like to propose a special issue, please contact The February Journal editors (info@thefebruaryjournal.org) and outline your idea.

29. What is F Media? 

F Media is a project of The February Journal that publishes academic and non-academic texts commenting on and/or contextualizing The February Journal issues. The project provides useful information about research trends as well as relevant projects and interventions. You can also find on F Media interviews with academics, essays by curators and artists, podcasts, and other materials. If you would like to contribute to F Media, please contact the editors at info@thefebruaryjournal.org.